3 results
A reassessment of the lower visual field map in striate-recipient lateral suprasylvian cortex
- Helen Sherk, Kathleen A. Mulligan
-
- Journal:
- Visual Neuroscience / Volume 10 / Issue 1 / January 1993
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 June 2009, pp. 131-158
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
Lateral suprasylvian visual cortex in the cat has been studied extensively, but its retinotopic organization remains controversial. Although some investigators have divided this region into many distinct areas, others have argued for a simpler organization. A clear understanding of the region’s retinotopic organization is important in order to define distinct areas that are likely to subserve unique visual functions. We therefore reexamined the map of the lower visual field in the striate-recipient region of lateral suprasylvian cortex, a region we refer to as the lateral suprasylvian area, LS.
A dual mapping approach was used. First, receptive fields were plotted at numerous locations along closely spaced electrode penetrations; second, different anterograde tracers were injected at retinotopically identified sites in area 17, yielding patches of label in LS. To visualize the resulting data, suprasylvian cortex was flattened with the aid of a computer.
Global features of the map reported in many earlier studies were confirmed. Central visual field was represented posteriorly, and elevations generally shifted downward as one moved anteriorly. Often (though not always) there was a progression from peripheral locations towards the vertical meridian as the electrode moved down the medial suprasylvian bank.
The map had some remarkable characteristics not previously reported in any map in the cat. The vertical meridian’s representation was split into two pieces, separated by a gap, and both pieces were partially internalized within the map. Horizontal meridian occupied the gap. The area centralis usually had a dual representation along the posterior boundary of the lower field representation, and other fragments of visual field were duplicated as well. Finally, magnification appeared to change abruptly and unexpectedly, so that compressed regions of representation adjoined expanded regions. Despite its complexity, we found the map to be more orderly than previously thought. There was no clearcut retinotopic basis on which to subdivide LS’s lower field representation into distinct areas.
Visuotopic organization of the lateral suprasylvian area and of an adjacent area of the ectosylvian gyrus of cat cortex: A physioligical and connectional study
- Simon Grant, Stewart Shipp
-
- Journal:
- Visual Neuroscience / Volume 6 / Issue 4 / April 1991
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 June 2009, pp. 315-338
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
We have explored the visuotopic organization of the territory surrounding the middle suprasylvian sulcus (MSS) of cat cerebral cortex by electrophysiological mapping, and by tracing the topography of its cortical and subcortical connections using wheatgerm-agglutinin horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP). Observations from the two approaches were concordant, and confirmed the presence of two separate visual areas in the MSS that approximate, but do not exactly correspond, to the location and internal organization of the posterior medial and posterior lateral lateral suprasylvian (PMLS, PLLS) areas of Palmer et al. (1978).
We define as part of the lateral suprasylvian (LS) area the territory on the medial bank and caudal end of the lateral bank of the MSS that receives a topographically organized projection from the region of area 17 representing the lower visual quadrant. This territory is connected with other structures that are themselves striate-recipient (cortical areas 18 and 19, and the lateral division of the lateral posterior (LPI) nucleus), and with a variety of nuclei that receive direct retinal input, such as the C-laminae of the LGd, the medial interlaminar nucleus (MIN), and the superficial layers of the superior colliculus (SC). Its connections with the LP1, LGd, MIN, and SC correspond topographically with the input from area 17. Revised maps of area LS were produced from the physiological and connectional data: its rostral border is formed by a representation of lower visual elevations with the horizontal meridian represented caudally, and its lateral border is formed by the vertical meridian; area LS shares a representation of the center of gaze with the visual area of the lateral bank at its caudal end.
The adjacent lateral bank area has larger receptive fields than area LS, and very different connectivity. It receives no input from area 17 and little input from striate-recipient structures, including area LS, but instead is connected to more remote extrastriate visual areas, such as the anterior ectosylvian visual (AEV) area in insular cortex, and to zones of the thalamus in receipt of tectal input (LPm and the lateromedial-suprageniculate nuclear complex). According to both mapping approaches, the lateral bank area contains representations of both the upper and lower visual quadrants but a rather limited degree of visuotopic order. We refer to it as the posterior ectosylvian visual (PEV) area, because it appears to be functionally and connectionally dissociated from area LS, but is possibly a functional antecedent of area AEV.
The functional organization of area V2, II: The impact of stripes on visual topography
- STEWART SHIPP, SEMIR ZEKI
-
- Journal:
- Visual Neuroscience / Volume 19 / Issue 2 / March 2002
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 July 2002, pp. 211-231
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
We have examined the visuotopic organization of area V2 of macaque monkeys in relation to its modular construction, comprising repetitive cycles of stripes running perpendicular to the border with area V1. Receptive fields were plotted in anesthetised animals, mainly using long penetrations parallel to the V1 border crossing several stripes in dorsal V2 within the representation of paracentral, inferior visual field. We confirm that each set of modules (thick, thin, and interstripes) mounts an unbroken coverage of the visual field, since there is almost invariably some overlap between the aggregate fields recorded in successive stripes of the same class, at intervals of one cycle. Also as expected, penetrations perpendicular to the stripes record changes in eccentricity along an isopolar visual meridian. We measured the size of the point image along such an isopolar meridian in nine cases, and showed that on average it exceeds the length of a typical cycle; again, this implies that no point in space escapes analysis by any of the functional modules. The representation of eccentricity across a cycle of stripes resembles a “ratchet” model, in which the gradient of eccentricity across a single stripe exceeds the gradient across the full cycle, leading to discontinuities (“switchbacks”) at the borders between stripes. The shift in eccentricity across the width of a stripe is sufficient to maintain a virtually continuous map across successive stripes of the same class; when coupled to receptive field scatter about the mean trend, this creates the overlap of aggregate fields.